Opinions
Paul Harris, CFA
Colgate Palmolive
CL-N
DON'T BUY
Nov 27, 2014
Stock price when the opinion was issued
You might be interested:
Probably one of the better staple companies. In July it had a big Venezuelan devaluation which resulted in a sharp drop in earnings. This was followed by the currency earnings drag. You are going to probably see some pullbacks and corrections in valuations, but longer-term this is a very good story if you have a multi-year view on the company.
He is avoiding staples right now. They are trading very, very rich. This company has had a negative earnings revision and are really struggling in some of their core categories with pricing pressures and volume. Not a lot of positive things to say about this. He would be moving on to a different sector, on the view that we will be seeing higher rates. This is not a “Growth” story, it is a “how do we save the ship” story.
Every day, millions of consumers around the world trust our products to care for themselves and the ones they love. colgate-palmolive is a global company serving people in over 200 countries and territories with consumer products that make their lives healthier and more enjoyable. colgate manufactures and markets oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition products under such internationally recognized brand names as colgate, palmolive, speed stick, lady speed stick, softsoap, irish spring, protex, sorriso, kolynos, elmex, tom’s of maine, sanex, ajax, axion, fabuloso, soupline and suavitel, as well as hill’s science diet, hill’s prescription diet and hill’s ideal balance. Social media mentions are up 267% in the past 24h.
A great company, but has a high multiple, at the high end of these consumer type companies. Prefers PG-N, who are making some changes and getting rid of some products and buying back some of their shares. These companies need to re-think their product line and rationalize it. CL-N is a well run company, but you pay a higher multiple.